The Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has crossed the halfway stage of the tournament, and the 19th edition of the tournament has been an exciting one, with fans seeing everything possible in the competition, from high-scoring run chases to low-scoring thrillers in the last 39 matches. In match number 40, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will host Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Both the teams are in opposite form in the current league. The hosts are still unbeaten in the league and top the table, while Rajasthan’s campaign has stalled and they are coming into this match after losing the last two of their three games, which is a matter of concern for Riyan Parag’s team.
IPL 2026: PBKS vs RR Preview:
Punjab Kings are the most in-form team in the tournament; They have won six games, and one match was washed out due to rain. He could have had a full 14 points in the first seven games. Shreyas Iyer’s team chased a target of 265 runs in their last game against Delhi Capitals, which was a record run chase in the history of T20 and IPL.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first home match in Jaipur. Although Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored his second IPL century, it went in vain as the pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan chased down the target of 229 runs. The Royals’ middle-order batting has been a problem as the captain has failed to score many runs this season.
The PBKS vs RR encounter will be an exciting one, pitting one of the best batting teams in the power play against one of the best bowling teams in the power play. This exciting contest is going to take place in New Chandigarh. Both the teams have clashed 30 times in the IPL and RR have had the upper hand, having won 17 games and the Kings have won 13.
The pitch for the PBKS vs RR encounter will be a batting paradise as the pitch at this venue has been favorable for the batsmen. With an average score of 212 in the first innings, fans can expect another high-scoring encounter. Last time PBKS played here, it was a massacre of Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly against LSG, where they scored 254 runs.
PBKS vs RR Toss Result Today IPL 2026 Match 40
Punjab Kings/Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat/field first.
PBKS Playing XI vs RR Today IPL 2026 Match 40
Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Johnson, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal.
RR Playing XI vs PBKS Today IPL 2026 Match 40
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ryan Parag (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Joffra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Nandre Berger, Brijesh Sharma.
PBKS vs RR Impact Players Today IPL 2026 Match 40
Influential players of Punjab Kings: Vishal Vijaykumar, Harpreet Brar, Suyansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod
Influential players of Rajasthan Royals: Luan-Dre Pretorius, Ravi Bishnoi, Ravi Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey
Also Read: PBKS vs RR Dream11 Prediction Today Match, Dream11 Team Today, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update – IPL 2026, Match 40
